


Been Waitin' All Night Now

by cherryvanilla



Category: Actor RPF, Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Stripper/Exotic Dancer, F/M, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-07
Updated: 2013-09-07
Packaged: 2017-12-25 22:15:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/958212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherryvanilla/pseuds/cherryvanilla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Johnny first sees her, he thinks her name is Crystal because, as she tells him later, “Apparently Kristen is just too dull to be a stripper name. Go figure.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Been Waitin' All Night Now

**Author's Note:**

> This idea started because I saw [this](http://kstewarts.tumblr.com/post/32953885367) and said to imp 'but now I wanna write it' and instead of talking me out of it she told me Tazer should be a bartender (yes, again) and KStew would tease him about how he should be up there and there'd be lots of pining. Somehow that turned into this weird KStew: the Feminist Stripper thing, but I did managed to get all of her requests in. 
> 
> Thanks to imp for encouraging my ridiculousness and beta <3 
> 
> Contains brief mentions of past Tazer/Kaner. 
> 
> Here's a bit of [fanart](http://24.media.tumblr.com/b4b6edd3351ee48083dfc7ac18b7f67f/tumblr_mre6brK1RG1qcso0ko1_500.jpg) I stumbled upon fortuitously while writing. 
> 
> My Graphics: 
> 
> Title from Kanye.

Johnny first meets Kristen the night of his interview. Tim has been pretty informal about the whole thing, essentially saying the job is Johnny's if he wants it, since he has a bartending license and is willing to submit to a background check. Clearly, the requirements to work here are bare minimum. Afterwards, he tells Johnny to relax, have a drink on the house, and take in the show if he’s so inclined. Being a mostly straight, 25 year old dude, yeah – Johnny’s definitely inclined. 

He sits in the back and watches a blonde do her thing. The place isn’t full nudity out front but customers could get that in a VIP room, which isn’t as glamorous as it sounds, considering that this is basically a sports bar/strip club in which most guys care more about watching the Leafs than getting a lap dance. At one point Tim actually advertised free lap dances during Leafs playoffs games – when they weren’t in the playoffs. It’s safe to say Johnny isn’t going to be working in the most glamorous joint in downtown Toronto, but it’ll do. 

When Johnny first sees her, he thinks her name is Crystal because, as she tells him later, “Apparently Kristen is just too dull to be a stripper name. Go figure.” He notices her right away; it’s hard not to after watching two different blondes, both well stacked, on before her. He takes in her brown hair, her almost bored expression when she comes out, the surprising fact that her tits just... aren’t as big as what you’d normally see at a strip club. Her body is amazing and her presence, once she gets started... well, Johnny is pretty captivated. She definitely has a quality about her. 

Her performance is exactly that – it’s as though she’s acting up there, a character. She’s forlorn over the fact that she’s in the corner, watching a couple kiss. When the singer says she’s just ‘dancing on my own’, ‘Crystal’ spins on the pole with utter perfection. She’s wearing stilettos (which the song calls for), black diamond cut fishnets, a short ruffled skirt that barely covers her ass in the thong, a top that only stretches over her breasts, and black leather gloves. Johnny stops watching just before she takes her top off and then immediately regrets it, as he looked at the previous girls. It feels – weird with her though, for some reason. Her performance was raw and vulnerable and it just – the nudity really doesn’t fit the tone, is the thing, even though it’s obviously a requirement. 

He hangs around after and Tim introduces him to some of the girls. Most of them run their eyes over him and flirt pretty obviously. Kristen, as he’s now been corrected on her name, barely pays any attention, giving him a bro-like nod and a fistbump. 

It’s not that Johnny doesn’t love being flirted with, but for some reason he’s more interested in Kristen’s utter _lack_ of interest in him, rather than any of the looks Dakota or Ashley are throwing his way. Sharpy’s always called him a glutton for punishment, and Johnny begins wondering if he’s right.  
_______________________

Kristen’s a little standoffish with him at first, but according to Ashley, that’s the way she is with all new people. 

One night Johnny’s talking to Dakota, listening to her tell him about her dreams of traveling. 

“I want to see everything, man. But Paris especially.” 

“I speak French,” Johnny says, not even really thinking, wiping down some of the glasses. When he looks up, Dakota is gaping at him. 

“Oh my god, that’s hot.” 

Johnny flushes and averts his eyes. He notices Kristen walking over, coming to a stop with her arm slung around Dakota’s neck. 

Dakota smiles at her, leaning her head against Kristen’s shoulder. “Kris, did you know Johnny speaks French?” 

Kristen looks at Johnny briefly. “Oh yeah?” she says, eyes narrowed. “I took it in college. Can barely remember anything, though. Sort of wanted to pick it up again.” 

“I can teach you,” Johnny blurts out, and then wants to punch his own face. 

Kristen laughs. “Yeah, no thanks, man.”

Johnny really does feel like he’s been punched in the face then. 

“Don’t be a dick,” Dakota chides before turning to him. “Say something in French.” 

Johnny shakes his head, watching Kristen roll her eyes. 

“Aww, come on,” Dakota wheedles, batting her eyelashes. Johnny laughs. 

“Okay, fine.” He looks at Kristen, who doesn’t look back.

He really, really hopes she doesn’t remember much, like she said. 

“Vous êtes la plus belle femme que j'ai jamais vu.”

Kristen looks at him, and Johnny freezes for a moment, stomach in his throat. 

Dakota laughs. “What’d you say?” 

Johnny makes a zipping motion across his lips. 

“You sound ridiculous,” Kristen says flatly, before heading off to the back. 

Johnny holds in a groan and continues cleaning up. 

“She just likes to give new dudes a hard time before she figures out if she likes them. Don’t take it personally,” Dakota says, sympathetically, before following in the direction Kristen went. 

Things change when they all go out for Tim’s birthday. Kristen and Johnny get into an argument over whether or not New York sucks. Johnny says yes, because he hated it when he went with Kaner once (and then they ended up breaking up for the millionth time over the shitty weekend they had before getting back together a week later), Kristen says he’s a fucking moron, and soon they’re bouncing from one topic to the next, knocking back shots as easy as anything. Kristen’s smiling in Johnny’s direction and burping like she’s one of his bros and Johnny finds himself hoping maybe she will be. 

He drives her home that night and they just chill in the car with the heat on, still talking. 

“How’d you end up here from the States?” 

“School. I was gonna head to L.A. afterwards but I stayed ‘cause I fell in love like an idiot. Now we’re over and here I am.” 

She says it all so matter factly that Johnny’s almost jealous by the ease in which she can. 

“Why not leave, then?” 

Kristen shrugs, throwing him a considering look. “I believe everything happens for a reason. Don’t like giving up. I’ve got some extra work on films, but it isn’t steady. Stripping pays the bills, man. Not like it’s every night.” 

That’s true; Kristen definitely works less than some of the other girls. Johnny finds he misses her on those nights, actually. There’s no one loitering around the bar stealing lime wedges and sucking them between their teeth while waiting for their entrance. 

“How bout you?” she asks. “Heard you tell Ashley you’re from Winnipeg.” 

“Needed a change, eh?” 

Kristen laughs, then elbows him. “You’re kind of a dumb dude, you know.” It isn’t a question. 

“Gee, _thanks_ ,” he deadpans. 

Kristen’s grin widens. “Relax, I like dumb dudes.” Then she kisses his cheek and gets out of the car.

Johnny’s zeroed in on the warmth from her lips his entire drive home.  
___________________

He supposes that wasn’t Kristen’s way of flirting with him when nothing is different between them the next night. Which is fine, really. Getting involved with people you work with is the worst and not really worth the trouble. It doesn’t really explain the way his eyes follow her when she’s leading someone into a back room or the tightness that coils in his belly. 

“You’re always watching hockey,” Kristen says to him after returning from the back, as she steals a lemon piece.

“Huh?” Johnny says, focused on the way her sheer shirt is on inside out and the outline of her bra beneath it. 

She snaps her fingers in front of his face. “Eyes up here, buddy.” 

Johnny flushes, deeply. “Shit, I’m sorry.” 

Kristen gives him an odd look. “Not like there’s much down there anyway, man.” 

“Your uh, no, your shirt is inside out.” 

Kristen looks down. “Huh.” She almost sounds disappointed, which is odd. Then she strips it off, turning it the right side out and puts it back on. “Better?”

Johnny’s face heats even further. He’s instantly glad for how dark it is. “Yep.” 

“ _Anyway_ , I was saying, you’re always watching hockey on TV at the bar, so we should go somewhere else and catch the game tomorrow night.” 

Johnny nods, still a little distracted by everything. “Uh, sure. Sounds good.” 

“You’re so eloquent,” she smiles, sweetly, in irony of her mock-condescension and heads out to the audience. 

The next night they’re at a dive bar while Johnny yells at the screen and Kristen laughs at him. 

“Why’re you even a Leafs fan? You some masochist?” 

She’s on her second beer, keeping up with him easily. 

“I’m not, really. I mean, I guess I went for the Jets a lot when I was younger, and guess I do now that they’re back, but mostly I just wanna see good games.”

“Do you play?” 

Johnny throws her a ‘what kind of question is that’ look and she holds up her hands. 

“Hey man, I was trying not to stereotype you as an average Canadian dude.”

“I appreciate that,” Johnny replies, dryly. 

“You in a league or something?” 

“Yeah, just for fun, really. I mean – well, I guess I take it pretty seriously.” 

Kristen nods, popping a few pretzels into her mouth, leaning her elbows on the bar. “Can tell that about you – you’re the most focused bartender I’ve ever seen, when I’m not distracting you. Or when a game isn't on.” 

She’s grinning, easy as anything, but Johnny still shrugs, feeling a little uncomfortable. 

She pushes at his shoulder. “It’s not a bad thing, asshole.” 

He feels the tightness in his shoulders ease and smiles at her over his beer. She isn’t wearing any makeup, her eyes hazel with bits of green flecks that Johnny can make out more without them being shrouded with eyeliner. 

Once outside, it’s pretty fucking cold, and Kristen isn’t wearing any gloves. Johnny watches her blow on her hands, pulling them beneath the sleeves of the strip club’s hoodie that Tim decided to start selling when business picked up. 

“Here,” he says, taking off one glove and then the other. “Take ‘em.” 

Kristen frowns up at him. “Don’t be silly, man. I can handle it.” 

“Yeah, well so can I. So just go on,” he says, shoving them at her. She rolls her eyes but puts them on, rubbing her hands together. 

“Thanks, dude. Hey, did you see the program me, Ash, and Dakota did to Janelle Monae’s Q.U.E.E.N? We debuted it last night.” 

“No, must’ve missed it,” he says, evasively. She’d probably call him a total weirdo if she knew he didn’t really watch the shows while working. 

Kristen squints at him. “Huh. Man, it was _epic_. We had this whole, like, female empowerment thing going on. Best ever.” 

She does this little run and punch in the street and Johnny smiles at her back, loving when she gets so ridiculously enthusiastic. 

“So how’d you start working there?” he asks as they turn a corner, their shoulders brushing. 

Kristen pulls out a cigarette. “Ash and I worked at bar downtown that closed, just waitressing. When we had to find new jobs she suggested we give it a shot – make better bucks. I mean, I already knew I could be sexy if I had to be – I’ve done a few photo shoots and shit. It wasn’t that big of a deal.” 

They reach Johnny’s car and Kristen looks lost in thought. 

“You alright?” 

She shakes herself, tossing the half smoked cigarette on the ground. “Yeah.” When they slide inside she starts talking again. “I just. I really love the girls there, you know? After I got friendly with everyone I just – I’ve just felt really protective of them. Like, I’d totally fucking jump across the room and kill a dude if they did anything to them.”

Johnny looks at her. She’s almost shaking. He frowns. “Sometimes you really look – like, pissed off, up there.” Johnny is really only going by that first time, and when he’d occasionally glance up and catch her face, resolutely _not_ looking at her body.

“Nah, it’s not that, man. It’s more – I feel almost a sense of power, you know? That’s the thing dudes who go there don’t get. They think they’re the ones in control; they’re not. I love that. Think that’s why last night was so awesome.” 

Johnny nods, considering. He never really thought of it that way, either, but now he definitely gets what she’s talking about. 

Kristen laughs, abruptly. “Anyway, sorry. I'm not a _complete_ misandrist. I do actually think some dudes are okay.”

“Yeah?” Johnny grins, glancing at her. “One of them in this car?” 

“You wish,” she snorts. But she’s smiling at him, widely, and Johnny’s stomach does a stupid somersault. 

He wants to lean in and kiss her when they pull up in front of her place, wants to so bad that he even starts to close the distance between them, except she’s digging into her bag for her keys and she definitely doesn’t see him. Johnny loses his nerve and he sits back before she even looks up. 

“Thanks for the ride, man. This was fun.” 

“No problem. Sleep well.” 

Kristen laughs and rolls her eyes. “Bye, Johnny.” 

He watches until she’s inside and then drops his head onto the steering wheel. “Sleep well?” he mutters to himself. 

He goes home and jerks off in the shower, still full of self-deprecation but his dick could really care less. He comes against the tile, watching white lines splash against pale blue, and moans Kristen’s name.  
______________________

Kristen’s milling about the bar, taking a break from offering lap dances while Johnny tries to forget the fact that last night he came to images of her lips around his dick. 

“You should go up there,” she says, leaning back against the counter and nodding towards the stage. Johnny’s not technically sure if she’s allowed back here, but Andrew doesn’t seem to mind and Tim hasn’t said anything either. 

Johnny scoffs at her, making a face. “Yeah, okay.” 

“Hey, you’ve got the ass for it.” 

Johnny’s sure his face gets even more judgmental, given Kristen’s delighted laughter. 

“I’m serious. You could bounce quarters off that thing.” 

“Thanks, I think?” He’s steadfastly ignoring if this means she’s been checking him out, although Sharpy often says he’s taking up half the ice with his ass, so most likely not. “Besides, I’m not exactly what our clientele goes for.” 

Kristen looks at him, searchingly, Johnny’s not sure for what exactly. Then she shrugs. “Eh, I’m sure you could turn a few heads.” 

Johnny laughs, loudly. “I also can’t dance for shit, so there’s that.” 

“One lesson with me, baby, and you’d be a pro.” Kristen winks. That sounded way too dirty (probably deliberately), and now Johnny’s mind is in the gutter. 

“Let’s not and say we did.” 

He thinks disappointment crosses her face, which is ridiculous because it’s not like this conversation is anywhere close to being serious. Before he can ask, though, a dude leans over the bar and asks how much it is for a private dance. 

“Three hundred,” Kristen says, in her ‘Crystal’ voice. 

“Back on the clock,” she says to Johnny before stepping out from behind the bar and leading the dude towards the back of the club. 

Johnny doesn’t watch her go.  
______________________

The next time Kristen works, she looks tired and a little annoyed by the end of the night. 

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she says, plopping herself on the bar. Johnny tries not to look at her black fishnets or the way her ass is basically hanging out. 

“I’m pretty sure you’re violating a ton of health codes right now.” 

Kristen scoffs, crossing her legs. “The entire back room area is a health code violation.” 

Johnny reaches over her to grab some tequila. “Well, I wouldn’t know.” 

Kristen grins at him. “Oh? I’m sure Ash would be happy to give you a tour.” 

Johnny shrugs. Ashley really is just his normal type but – he wants... 

“Whatever, you’re not missin’ much. Dude just wanted me to suck his dick.” 

Johnny’s head snaps up, jaw tightening. “Wait, what?” 

“Yep. The most I do is handjobs, man, and only if I’m in the mood.”

“You... you do?”

Kristen shrugs. “Depends on how much I need the cash. Most of the time they get themselves off. Whatever, this guy got pissed even though he knew my rules up front.”

Johnny's teeth grind together. “He didn’t try anything, did he?” 

“Nah. Just cursed a bunch, called me a whore. I’ve heard worse.”

Johnny runs a hand through his hair, anger flaring. “I... I’m sorry.” 

Kristen waves him off. “I’m fine. I really only came over here to see what you were doing tomorrow.” 

Johnny blinks in surprise while depositing a drink. “Uh, night off. Didn’t really have plans yet.” 

Kristen uncrosses and recrosses her legs. Johnny looks away quickly. “So, like, I sing at open mic night at this coffee shop sometimes? And, uh, you should come.” 

His heart and stomach are suddenly doing complex things. “I’d like that.” 

“Cool,” Kristen says, lowering herself from the bar. She sounds relieved, and Johnny wonders if she was actually nervous. Except that makes no sense.  
_________________

Johnny arrives just as Kristen’s pulling out her acoustic guitar. The place is small and cute; vintage. It’s probably not someplace he ever would’ve thought to frequent, but he finds himself wanting to hear what Kristen likes about it. 

“So, uh, this is one I just learned,” he hears her say as he orders a coffee. He looks over and their eyes meet. Johnny watches her smile, bright and sudden, and then almost check herself. She’s wearing skinny jeans and a t-shirt. Johnny’s always struck by how everyday she can look in regular clothes, such a shift from how exotic she appears at work. She’s wearing eyeglasses, too, something Johnny’s never seen her in. He takes a seat at the back and just – observes her. She’s fucking beautiful, and his heart feels like it’s being squeezed as he watches her fiddle with her mic and tune her guitar. 

“So, yeah, this is originally by Band of Horses, but I’m doing the Serena Ryder arrangement.”

Johnny takes a sip of coffee and listens to her start belting out a gorgeous melodic tune. He recognizes the song after a few seconds and just stares – caught in the softness of her voice, the way she draws out each note. Kristen’s eyes flit over to his for a moment and then glance away again, too quickly for Johnny to smile or, more importantly, hide the awe in his expression. 

She receives boisterous applause when she’s done, and Johnny whistles loudly. Once packed up, Kristen heads over to him, immediately. Johnny thought maybe she’d invited some other friends out, but it isn’t looking that way. 

“Well?” 

“Worst thing I’ve ever heard,” Johnny says, dryly. 

“Thanks for that constructive criticism,” she deadpans in reply. 

Johnny chuckles. “No one else here?” 

Kristen shifts on her feet, dragging a hand through her hair. “Nah, man. I uh, get self-concious easily.”

Johnny tosses her a surprised look. “Um, do I need to remind you what you do three, sometimes four nights a week?”

Kristen rolls her eyes. “Man, that’s a cakewalk compared to this. This is – this is me exposing something that takes something more than just moves and sex appeal.” 

She has a point; seeing her do what she just did is probably ten times more intimate than watching her strip. And – she let him watch. Johnny really hopes that means something. Their eyes meet, her expression open and vulnerable. He wants to know why, wants to ask her a million things, but chickens out. 

“You should show me around this place,” Johnny says instead. 

So she does. Like he expected, she loves it here, and takes him on a tour of her favorite parts which is mostly the poetry section and also the collection of fiction anthologies.

"If I could afford it I'd totally go back to school for English lit," she says. 

They end up just sitting on the carpet in one of the aisles and browsing through books together, their ankles knocking together. Johnny loves that he gets to see her this way – laughing and in Converse and glasses and not putting on some act for an audience. He also wants to crawl over and kiss her until she moans, find out what her lip gloss tastes like, so there’s still that.

They stay until the store closes. Johnny drives her home since she took the subway and why should she have to lug her guitar back. 

“Thanks, man,” Kristen says when they pull up to her house. “Like, I mean it. Thanks for coming out.” 

“Of course,” Johnny says sincerely. 

“Bye,” Kristen says softly, leaning in and kissing his cheek again. Johnny turns his head, but she’s already moved away and is opening the door. 

“This is getting ridiculous,” he tells himself when his head is once again on his steering wheel. He’s never had this much trouble making a move before, but something keeps holding him back from doing it at the right time. He really, really doesn’t to fuck this up, and if she just wants to be friends then maybe it’s not worth it.  
_______________________

“I still can’t believe you work here,” Kaner yells over the music, a little wide-eyed as he looks around. Johnny sees his gaze linger on Nikki as she twirls around the pole, before looking back at him. 

He just shrugs at Kaner and pushes his free beer at him. 

Johnny sees Kristen walking towards him, already in full costume which – isn’t a lot of clothes, obviously, and he swallows hard. She doesn’t pause, just steps behind the bar like she owns the joint and sucks a lemon wedge between her teeth. 

“Yo, Johnny, did I lose my earring in your car the other night?”

Johnny’s gaze flicks to Kaner and he sees his eyes widen even further. 

“Uh, no, not that I saw? But I can check.”

“Thanks,” she says. “Who’s your friend?” she asks, tilting her head. 

“That’s Kaner,” Johnny says. 

Kristen arches an eyebrow at Johnny, before turning to face him. “Crystal. Hey.” 

She really doesn’t have to pull the stripper name with Kaner, but if that’s what makes her more comfortable… 

“Patrick Kane,” he says, bending to kiss her hand. “It’s a pleasure.” 

Kristen laughs, half delighted, half incredulous, before turning to Johnny. “Is he for real?” 

“Unfortunately,” Johnny says, long-suffering. 

Kaner makes a blow job motion with his mouth. 

Johnny snorts. “Yeah, you wish.” 

They do still hook up occasionally, but it’s few and far between these days. After so many breakups it just – tends to get confusing and honestly, they’ve always been better as friends. 

Kristen looks between them, and Johnny can’t read her face. Then she glances at the stage. “Fuck, I’m almost on. Nice to meet you, Patrick Kane,” she says, dryly, a smirk on her face. 

Johnny resolutely doesn’t watch her go. 

“Holy god,” Kaner says, slapping his arm after Johnny takes the order of the dude sitting next to him. “Are you banging her?” 

“Nope,” Johnny says, easily. 

Kaner’s mouth drops open. “What are you waiting for?” 

Johnny shrugs, uncomfortably. “We’re friends.” 

Kaner rolls his eyes. “Yeah, so are you and I and that didn’t stop us, loser.” 

Johnny just shrugs again, tension settling in his shoulders. “I know what I’m doing,” Johnny says, voice tight. 

“If you say so, man,” Kaner replies, easily. 

Kaner watches Kristen’s show while Johnny deals with the rush of a Friday night crowd.  
__________________________

The thing is, Johnny doesn’t ever watch Kristen’s performances – or any of the girls’, really. Regardless of this fact, though,, his eyes always manage to find Kristen in the crowd when she’s giving lap dances, a wave of protectiveness washing over him. The place has decent security, but still. It’s a Saturday night when Johnny’s blindly mixing a sex on the beach while looking out at the floor through the mirrored glass at the bar. He nearly drops the drink from his hand as a result of what he sees. He’s leaping over the bar in an instant, focused only on the sight of a dude’s arms around Kristen and trying to pull her down against him. There’s a pretty fucking strict no touching policy and this dude – Johnny can’t even hear the music over the roaring in his ears. She’s already slapped the guy and is getting off his lap when Johnny arrives and punches him in the jaw. 

“What the _fuck_ , Johnny?” Kristen yells. 

Johnny stares at her, mouth agape while the dude holds his face. Then Martin arrives and forcibly escorts him out, while Johnny spits, “Don’t ever show your face here again.” 

“Jesus Christ,” Kristen mutters, sounding disgusted. 

“ _What?_ ” Johnny asks, turning to her again, his hand starting to throb. 

“I don’t need you to be my fucking knight in shining armor!” she shouts, then she storms off towards the back while Johnny just blinks after her. 

Dakota ends up at his side. 

“What the fuck is her problem?” Johnny asks, frustrated, ready to go after her. 

Dakota grabs his arm, squeezing. “Just let her cool down.” 

Johnny frowns but listens. Towards the end of the night, he’s still seen no sight of her, so he finally makes his way to the back. Kristen’s sitting on a chair outside the employee lounge, bottle of vodka near empty and dangling from her fingers. 

“Look who it is,” she slurs, eyes red like she’s been crying. “My hero.” 

Johnny sits down beside her. She’s since changed into a pair of sweats and a half shirt. Johnny’s pretty sure she isn’t wearing a bra. 

“Where’d you get that?” he asks, nodding to the bottle. 

Kristen snorts. “Lifted it from the bar.” 

“Jesus, Tim will kill me.” 

“That’s okay, you can just punch him.” 

Johnny frowns, hard. “What’s wrong?” 

“Did I say something was wrong, Johnny?” she asks, innocently, batting her eyelashes up at him. Her makeup is completely smudged. 

Johnny sighs. “When you’re more pissed at me than a dude grabbing you? Yeah, I’d say there’s something fucking wrong here.” 

Kristen glares. “I told you I could handle it! I’ve – I fucking told you this before, I don’t need – I’m not fucking powerless.” 

“I didn’t say you were! But I’m sorry, I wasn’t just going to watch while that asshole touched you. I would’ve done the same for any girl here.” 

Kristen takes a swig from the bottle. “Fine,” she says, petulantly. 

“Fine,” Johnny says, mocking her tone. 

Her mouth twists. “You want me to say thank you or something?” 

Johnny scoffs. “Yeah, that’d be nice, actually.” 

“Oh yeah?” Kristen asks, and Johnny watches the bottle clank on the floor, watches her get up shakily and climb onto his lap. “How about this?” she says, voice a low rumble. 

“What – what are you doing?” Johnny says, his fingers tightening on the arms of the chair. 

Kristen smirks down at him. “What’s it look like?” 

She starts a slow grind against him, her hips moving fluidly. It’s ridiculously sexy even in the sweatpants. 

“Come on, stop,” Johnny says, voice getting thready as he wills his dick to not respond. 

“You never watch the shows,” Kristen says, staring down at him. “Every dude that works here does, at least sometimes. All the girls wonder about it. You gay, Johnny? Or just the biggest gentlemen there is? Or both?”

Johnny finds himself huffing out a laugh. “Bi. Like, 70/30 girls.”

Kristen laughs back. “My friends in high school used to quantify it in terms of percents. You just don’t like to watch, then? None of us do it for you?” Kristen continues, bending to whisper in his ear. 

Johnny suppresses a shudder. Her breath is so hot against him. “I’m focused on my job, you know that.” 

Kristen ‘hmm’s’ and continues rocking against him, grinding down against his dick which definitely wants to get with the program.

“Come on,” she whispers, tongue inching out to flick at his earlobe. “Touch me.” 

Johnny swallows down a groan. This is everything he's basically wanted but she's doing it for the wrong reasons. “You’re drunk, I’m not – not gonna take advantage of you, okay?” he says, touching her hips only to still them and shift her away. 

Kristen moans softly, a hurt sound. “Fuck,” she says, quietly, looking up at him with wide eyes. “Shit, sorry.” 

Johnny stands, pulling her along under his arm. “Come on, get your stuff. I’ll take you home.” 

Kristen’s quiet on the car ride, leaning her face against the window. Johnny puts some country on, low, and hears a soft sound of amusement. 

“I didn’t get a commercial,” she says at the next light. 

“Huh?” Johnny asks, surprised. 

Kristen nods, jerkily. “Had an audition last week. Didn’t tell anyone. Would’ve been a speaking part, national, shit load of money. Fuckin’ lost out, though. Found out today.” 

Someone beeps behind them. 

“Shit,” Johnny says, stepping on the gas. “I’m sorry.” 

“Yeah, so. Sorry, for like, everything back there.”

Johnny shakes his head. “It’s fine. You’ve got stuff on your mind, obviously."

“No, it was like, shitty, man.” 

They pull up in front of her apartment and Kristen turns to him, eyes red rimmed and glassy. “Look, uh, I just have this thing, okay? It may seem weird but I just.” She pauses, sighing. She’s still slurring her words a little, and Johnny really doesn’t envy the hangover she’s going to have. 

“What?” he asks, softly. 

Kristen bites her lip, staring at him determinedly. 

“Okay, so, I haven’t dated anyone since I started stripping, and some of the girls who have been doing this longer have told me some shitty stories about the way guys act over it. So I constantly think that when I do they're just gonna look at me like I’m someone who needs rescuing or something. Or worse, with pity. Like, they won’t see it the way I do, even if I explain the way it makes me feel, even if I said I could quit tomorrow if I wanted. I mean, I _like_ dancing, even if I don’t always like the environment or the B.S. that comes with it. And maybe I’m totally generalizing or whatever but – I'd never be able to be with someone like that. And it’s like, really important for me that _you_ don’t see me that way.” 

Kristen barely took a breath, her words one, long ramble. Her eyes are big and vulnerable, like this is some highly significant moment. Johnny’s starting to realize it just might be. 

“I don’t think of you that way,” Johnny says, voice quiet, staring at her. “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. And I think dancing makes you even stronger.” 

Kristen’s eyes widen even further but they also soften, her mouth curving into a small smile. “Good. That’s um, really good. Because I like you, man.” 

“I like you, too,” Johnny replies, immediately. 

Kristen shakes her head, her smile growing wider. “No, I mean I _like_ you, Johnny.” 

Johnny’s mouth drops open and he feels like he’s just been tripped on the ice. “Like – as in...” 

Kristen levels him with a look that could only be considered smoldering. “As in ‘I want you to put your hands all over my body.’” 

Johnny’s dick twitches, hard. 

“Holy shit,” he breathes.

Kristen laughs, brightly. “You seriously didn’t know?” 

“No,” Johnny whispers, in wonder. 

“I’ve only been asking you out forever.” 

“Oh,” he replies, dumbly. “I uh, almost made a move myself a few times, but I didn’t really want to fuck with what we have going.” 

“I want you to fuck with it, Johnny,” Kristen says, pointedly. She’s mostly trying not to laugh at her own words but Johnny still feels like all the air has been sucked out of the room. 

They just stare at one another until Johnny has to run his fingers through her hair, tilting her head back a little. Kristen’s eyes drift shut while he traces his fingertips across her neck, up her throat and over her cheek. She shivers minutely beneath his touch. 

“You need to get some sleep, but – come home with me tomorrow,” Johnny whispers. 

Kristen’s eyes flutter open and she nods, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip. 

“Yes.”  
________________________

At work the next night, Johnny is super tense. He’s never been good at knowing when exactly he’ll be having sex, because then he just imagines it all in his head and how he’ll want to do it, and what the person will feel like, sound like; basically it just turns him into an utter, unfocused mess. If someone touched him right he’d probably snap in two. 

Kristen saunters up to him in a black lace babydoll and black boots. Johnny nearly swallows his tongue. According to Tim she’s been here since late morning, working on a routine. Johnny was pretty surprised, as he assumed she’d want to sleep for as long as humanly possibly. 

“Hey,” she says, quietly, leaning over the bar. 

“Uh, hey,” Johnny says, casting a furtive glance around. Then she leans all the way in and pulls him down before whispering in his ear. “Watch me tonight.”

Johnny’s throat runs dry as she flicks her tongue against his earlobe, before pulling back to wink at him. Johnny watches her ass as she walks away, can’t wait to have it beneath his hands, his mouth. 

George announces to the club at ‘Crystal’ is up next. “And lucky for you, she’s debuting a new program. But sorry, fellas, apparently this is just for one guy in particular.” 

Johnny tells Andrew he’s taking his fifteen and goes to stand towards the back, along the wall. The music starts (Kanye’s Stronger) and Johnny lets out an audible groan when she stalks out to the tempo dressed in full military fatigues, complete with dog tags and a hat. Her hair is tucked beneath it and it gives her an androgynous look that is totally doing it for him. 

Kristen slowly undoes the buttons of her jacket to reveal a black sequin bra. She throws the top of her uniform into the audience, meeting Johnny’s eyes when Kanye sings, ‘been waitin’ all night now.’ She mouths, ‘I need you right now’ in his direction before turning to the pole and swinging up on it. 

“Shit,” Johnny breathes, gaze transfixed. She strips off her pants to the beat, standing in black lace underwear, a garter belt and stockings. She’s in dark green pumps and the fucking hat is still on until Kristen stares right at Johnny and throws it off, flipping her hair and immediately falling onto her knees, crawling towards the edge of the stage before turning onto her back and arching. Johnny blinks when she shifts into a split, her back as flat on the stage as her legs are. 

He’s so fucking hard it’s embarrassing, but he’s also completely focused on the number and her choice of song. It makes something bloom inside his chest and he feels a wave of emotion crash over him. Then she heads to the back of the stage and performs a bunch of off-the-ground complicated moves on the pole before slowly easing her bra off. Johnny looks this time, because she told him too, taking in the curve of her breasts, the dark pink of her nipples. Kristen winks at him and blows a kiss. A few heads turn, clearly trying to figure out who her ‘guy’ is. 

And then she’s gone, shaking her ass in the process. Johnny takes a breath and heads to the employee lounge, which isn’t the same as the dressing rooms. He figures Kristen will find him eventually and he isn’t wrong. 

She enters in a bathrobe, closing the door behind her before letting it fall to the ground, revealing her lingerie from the act. 

“Jesus Christ,” Johnny mutters as she reaches him and starts fingering the front of his shirt. 

“Yeah? You liked it?” She sounds like she loved it herself; good, she should. 

“Hell fucking yes,” Johnny says, running his hands up her arms, curling over her shoulders, feeling her push into the touch immediately. 

Johnny leans in, slowly, eyes trained on her face. She pulls him down when he’s a few inches away from her lips and then they’re kissing, wet and hard from the outright. Kristen tastes like honey, her mouth blistering hot as her tongue glides against his own, pointed and insistent. Johnny deepens the kiss even further, nerves singing as he listens to her moan, soft and broken. 

Kristen breaks the kiss, panting. “Take me home and fuck me.” Her voice is rough like gravel. 

“God, yes. Andrew can close, I don’t care.” 

“That’s the spirit.” 

No one bats an eye when they leave together. Kristen’s thrown on sweats and the club’s hoodie. The ride to his place is painstakingly slow as they look at one another, open and unabashed, no longer tucking any feelings or thoughts safely away. 

Kristen’s all over his back as he fumbles with his keys, trying to get the door to his place open. He drops them when she reaches around to palm at his dick. Kristen laughs while Johnny curses under his breath and determinedly picks them up to try again.

Once inside he spins her around against the door and kisses her hotly, their mouths opening beneath one another, desperate and frantic. Kristen’s arms wind around his neck, her fingertips clutching hard at his skin. Johnny presses her harder against the door, boxing her in with his body and tilting her face up to kiss her even deeper. Kristen lets out a long, slow moan that causes Johnny’s entire body ache with need. 

He runs his hands down her body, fitting his fingers against her ribcage as her back arches and she sucks on his lower lip, pulling on it until he’s panting harshly and staring down at her, their faces inches apart. 

“Want you so fucking bad,” he whispers, looking into her eyes, getting lost in the naked desire and emotion he finds there. Johnny’s breath catches in his throat and he leans in, slowly, just brushing their lips together. The kiss is soft and significant. His heart feels like it’s about to pound out of his chest and he wants to say a million things; how amazing she is, how she gets him and they get each other, how he’s fucking head over heels and it’s too fucking late to do anything about it even if he wanted to. Instead, he just puts everything he has into the kiss and feels her shiver and shake in his arms. 

“Johnny,” she stammers out when they break apart, foreheads pressed together, their breathing shallow. 

“Yeah,” he replies, not even knowing if it was a question or statement or what. 

Kristen pushes him back to strip off her hoodie, revealing the bra from her act. Johnny drags his tongue over his bottom lip, heat flaring behind his eyes. She toes off her shoes and doesn’t take her eyes off him. “You’re fucking me, right here. Get a fuckin’ condom.” 

Johnny’s dick twitches so hard it hurts. He adjusts himself in his pants and nods, dumbly, before practically tripping over her shoes to get to his bedside table. He ignores her soft laughter and returns, quickly, only to find her now only in her bra and panties, leaning back against the door legs crossed at the ankles. 

Johnny’s mouth runs dry. He throws the condom on the table near the door and splays his hands over her stomach, just tracing the contours of her body while they kiss again, slow and deep. Kristen starts to unbutton his jeans with deft hands while Johnny’s fingers dip to her belly button, making her stomach concave as she laughs, breathlessly, into his mouth. 

He kicks his jeans to the side and lets her pull off his t-shirt. She stares at his chest and he almost blushes until she ducks her head to kiss along his pecs, before curling her tongue first around his right nipple and then his left. Johnny groans and slides his fingers through her hair before running his hands down her back to unhook her bra. He lets it fall to their feet and teasingly inches around to her front while she continues to mouth along his chest. Johnny brushes feather light touches over her tits, feeling her gasp when he reaches her nipples which are already hard. 

Kristen kisses a path towards his arm while Johnny traces a hand down her belly, brushing over the front of her panties. She moans, a sharp gasp, and arches into the touch, biting down on his skin. “You know... normally I love foreplay, but I want you in me yesterday, man.” 

Johnny groans, pressing two fingertips against her pussy. “Okay. Fuck, okay.” He really wants to go down on her, wants her to do the same but it can wait. He’ll gladly eat her out until his fucking jaw aches when they’re sprawled out lazily in his bed, after she’s come on his dick. 

Johnny eases down Kristen’s underwear and she does the same. They let their eyes wander over each other’s bodies, briefly. Kristen’s completely shaved and fucking gorgeous. She takes a second to jack his cock just once, which is rock hard and leaking. He groans before returning the favor, slipping a teasing finger between the lips of her pussy. His finger comes away slick and he groans again, sucking it between his lips. She tastes salty and sweet, all at once. Kristen stares up at him, mouth parted. 

“Now, come on.” 

Johnny nods and reaches for the condom. He lets her roll it on just so he can feel those hands again, sure yet delicate. Kristen flattens her back against the door while Johnny bends to kiss her again, before gripping his dick and guiding it in, slowly. The first push is incredible – hot and wet and so fucking tight he thinks he may die. 

“Been a while,” she admits, gasping, one leg lifting around his thigh. Johnny groans, dragging his lips along her jaw and forcing himself to press in slower, feeling her muscles contract and then relax. 

“For me, too,” Johnny replies. “You’re so...” 

He has no idea what he wants to say and he’s saved from it when she pulls his head back down to her mouth and lifts her other leg, shifting further onto his dick. Johnny cups the backs of her thighs so she’s braced between the door and his hands, pushing until he’s in to the hilt. Kristen traces her tongue along his bottom lip and sighs. 

“Move,” she whispers and he does, fucking her against the door in long, measured thrusts, slow and drawn out, letting her feel every inch of him. They kiss and bite at one another’s lips and necks the entire time. The sounds Kristen makes are positively sinful, and Johnny honestly has to stop himself from shooting at least three times. 

She starts clenching around him, both her pussy and her thighs while Johnny bites at her lips until they’re full and blood red. Kristen’s nails scratch at the back of his neck as he mouths down her neck, sucking hot kisses in his wake. 

“God, Johnny,” she breathes, voice uneven. “Fuck me harder.”

Johnny grunts, pulling back before slamming forward. The doorframe shakes around them and then he’s gone, setting an absolute brutal pace of short, sharp twists of his hips while she scratches down his back, begging for more.

He comes, thighs shaking, gasping for air while pressing kisses into the burning hot skin of her shoulder. Kristen’s letting out small, wordless cries against him and he keeps fucking her, slipping a hand between them and thumbing her clit until both her thighs and arms tense around him and she groans his name, softly. 

Johnny’s sweating and panting, can barely even see, much less think. He somehow manages to set Kristen down without toppling them both to the floor and peels off the condom, crossing to his kitchen to throw it out. 

Kristen’s leaning against the door again, hair a tousled mess, nipples dark and hard, skin blotchy and red; she looks gorgeous. She makes a grabby motion at him, weakly, and he goes, lacing their fingers together. 

“Bed. Now,” she says, pulling him towards it. Johnny laughs and follows. 

Later, when they’ve awoken after drifting off, they just stare at one another, turned on their sides and touching lazily, anywhere they can reach. 

“What are you thinking?” Johnny whispers, because it feels like one of those moments in which someone’s just waiting for the other person to ask. 

Kristen bites her lip, but doesn’t shift her gaze away. “I’d always said to myself if I start dating someone I’ll stop with any VIP extras, so. Just want you to know, uh, I’m doing that. Still doing the private dances, obviously, but not anything else.” 

Johnny swallows, nodding. “I – okay,” he says, smiling a little, unsure what else to say. That sounds like they’re going to be monogamous and, well, he knew how he felt but he wasn’t really sure just how far Kristen’s ‘I like you’ extended until now. 

“Okay,” Kristen says, a slow grin taking shape. They move at the same time, lips coming together for an unhurried kiss, licking into one another’s mouths. Johnny’s hands lock around her back and he pulls her closer, deepening it and turning it into something heated and urgent. He wrenches his mouth away, gasping, lips trailing over her jaw. “Just to be clear, though; I’ll punch anyone who tries to fuck with my girlfriend.” 

Kristen’s teeth nip at his chin before she responds, dry and amused. “Not if I punch them first.” 

END

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I take from rl stuff with these stories. Here's a [gif](http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbjrgaKk6D1rxlo4ao5_r1_250.gif) of KStew saying something that's paraphrased within the story.
> 
> If you're interested in her actually playing a stripper (albeit with a much darker storyline) watch Welcome to the Riley's -- she's fantastic in it.


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